My son-in-law and two of my three grandsons
I want to tell you about my reasons for running. First, it is to give our students (who are our future) a stellar education. During the past five years under the leadership of the present Board, the performance of our schools has been steadily deteriorating.
This is not just my opinion. According to the Mich. Dept. of Ed. the performance ranking for our three high schools (Farmington Central is an “alternative high school”) fell from 2009 to 2010:
• Farmington High fell from 596 in the State to 732
• North Farmington High fell from 557 to an astounding 1,404
• Harrison High, which had poor showing in 2009, fell from 1,280 to 1,582
• Finally, according to reports issued by the Michigan Department of Education, in 2011 Harrison, North Farmington, and Farmington Central all failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).
Because I have been an educator, I understand firsthand the need to provide teachers with the best educational environment, a consistent teaching structure, and deserved recognition for their efforts in schooling our children. Therefore, if elected, I shall do the following:
a) Will visit each school once or twice per year to confer with the Principal and/or Asst. Principal on issues of concern to them and the Board.
b) Will meet confidentially, on request, with any teacher one-on-one to discuss matters affecting education.
c) Will look at school curricula and textbooks to make certain they meet accepted educational standards and norms.
My second reason for running is to address the justifiable concerns that parents and taxpayers have with the questionable financial and educational decisions of the Board. The Board has lacked transparency. The Board has been duplicitous with the public in financial dealings. (In fact, the present Board is being sued because it has failed to be transparent and follow its own rules.) And the Board has been arrogant in ignoring the wishes of the taxpayers and parents regarding major decisions on finances and education.
Therefore, if elected:
a) I shall work to make certain that all issues dealing with disposal or purchase of property exceeding $100,000, except in emergencies, be publicly disclosed at least two weeks prior to their discussion and that they be placed on the look-ahead agenda for the next open Board meeting. And for that open meeting, public comments will be scheduled and received.
b) Except for emergency measures, topics for which public comments were solicited will NOT be voted upon until the next scheduled meeting after such comments are received.
c) I will work to ensure that a dedicated public meeting is held for issues of significant community concern so that the Board’s ideas are clearly presented and the public can be heard.
d) Closed sessions will be held only for issues clearly allowed by State statutes.
e) And finally, I will open a personal email account for receipt of questions and comments from parents and taxpayers to make sure their opinions and concerns are being received.
electginsberg 